Jonny Payne pays tribute to his cat, Little Man, in his book “Mighty Little Man: My Story, His Story, Our Story.” (CONTRIBUTED)

Little Man wears a Harley-Davidson charm, a gift from Caroline Payne who manages Rocket Harley-Davidson. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Jonny Payne knew he had to tell the story of his pet cat, Little Man. Payne has written “Mighty Little Man: My Story, His Story, Our Story.”

A retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, Payne and Little Man have flown on assignments around the world. Little Man, a ‘man’s cat,’ favors the garage for lounging and ‘helps’ Payne restore his first car, a Barracuda.

Payne describes his book as “the inspirational true story of a military man’s whatever-it-takes approach and his beloved cat … as they unite in a battle against what we feared would be certain death.”

Payne started writing about six months before “the terrifying ordeal that very nearly took Little Man’s life.” When Little Man became ill, Payne stopped writing and applied his energy “into doing whatever it took to pull him through.”

After weeks of struggling with various health threats, “Little Man miraculously recovered,” he said. “Dr. Stephanie Gandy at Catisfaction Cat Clinic was instrumental in saving Little Man’s life. Many doctors and facilities were involved, but, without her, I’m not sure what I would’ve done.”

Payne believes his readers will feel sadness, humor, hope, elation and peace. “Dr. Gandy said it best: “You will witness just how far one will go to save his companion, even when the odds are against them. Real men do love cats.”

A Birmingham native, Payne attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Florida and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School as a flight test engineer. He flew more than 35 aircraft types and more than 60 extremely hazardous flight test missions.

He currently works as an engineer for the U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal. His wife Caroline manages Rocket Harley-Davidson. Their children are Jonathon II, Brandon, Lauren and Matthew.

With Little Man beside him, Payne held his book launch at Catisfaction on Oct. 7. Ten percent of book sales went to Catisfaction’s Angel Fund for care of homeless cats.

For more information, email to Jonny@mightylittleman.com or visit mightylittleman.com or Facebook/Mighty Little Man.